Book Review: 'The Girl on the Train' by Paula Hawkins

This book. Okay. Where do I start.

The Girl on the Train was one of the most acclaimed books of 2015. It was always at the top of the recommended list at Chapters Indigo, and a lot of people were recommending it to me personally. I knew it was a thriller. A psychological thriller, at that. One of my favorite genres. I had seen a lot of mixed reviews; some loved it, some hated it. A television blogger whom I follow on Twitter and whose opinion I usually respect really didn't like it. I also knew that it was quite popular, which is why I was hesitant to read it: the last thriller novel to receive that amount of hype was Gone Girl, which I absolutely hated for reasons I won't get into, and a lot of critics were comparing The Girl on the Train to that. Eventually, I threw caution to the wind and decided to just read it.

And I'm so glad I did. It's so nice to see an acclaimed novel of any kind live up to the hype.

I do love psychological thrillers. Movies, television shows and books. I also think a lot of books that aren't considered psychological thrillers actually do fall into that category. The Girl on the Train was cleverly original, which was great to see, because it so could've been cliche and seen a thousand times before (*cough* Gone Girl *cough*). But it wasn't. It was great. A lot of these books have an unreliable narrator and The Girl on the Train has a great one; Rachel, the girl on the train herself, is an alcoholic who tends to get blackout drunk and therefore forgets important details from the past. In a nutshell, the story follows Rachel, a divorced woman who is forced to live with an old friend after her husband left her for another woman. She lost her marriage and her job due to her drinking, but doesn't want her flatmate, Cathy, to worry about her, so she still takes the commuter train everyday to London. She often gazes out at the house where she used to live, where her ex Tom still lives with his new wife Anna and infant daughter Evie, but also watches a neighboring house where a couple lives. Rachel calls the couple Jess and Jason, fantasizing about their perfect life together. The wife, Megan, later goes missing. All of the characters are somehow involved. The outcome is mind-blowing.

There were a lot of plot points that I thought wouldn't have a good outcome in the final climax of the story, but they did end up working out perfectly. The Girl on the Train is a masterpiece. It really is. Officially one of my favorite psychological thrillers. I also can't wait for the film adaptation which is due out next fall, because Emily Blunt is portraying Rachel and I can't wait to see how it turns out. 5/5 stars.

Book Review: 'Carry On' by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell has become one of my favorite authors.

Her books are written in such a compelling dialogue with unforgettable characters that I just want to curl up and never leave the worlds she has created. Eleanor & Park was the first novel of hers that I read and I loved it so much that even the thought of rereading it stresses me out, because I don't think I could handle it emotionally. Attachments and Landline are insanely cute, character-driven romantic comedies (that I would definitely consider rereading, just because I love them so much), and Fangirl is probably my favorite novel of hers. I originally didn't want to read it because I didn't really understand the point of fanfiction, but since I began to learn more about it and my love for Rainbow Rowell grew, I decided I should read it and I'm oh so glad I did. The main protagonist, Cath, is such a relatable character for me; introverted and anxious, likes books and the Internet better than most people. Fangirl also helped me through a bit of a tough time last fall, when I was having a lot of anxiety for several different reasons.

ANYWAY. This review is supposed to be about Rowell's latest novel, Carry On, which is somewhat of a standalone spin-off of Fangirl; it follows the fictitious fictional characters that Cath enjoys writing fanfiction about, Simon Snow and Baz. Given from the author's note at the end, Carry On is neither the established Simon Snow story in Fangirl nor the version Cath writes about; it's Rowell's version that she felt she owed them. Honestly, after finishing Fangirl I knew I had to read Carry On, even though I'm not a huge fan of fantasy novels. But, I mean, c'mon, it's Rainbow Rowell, so we all know I was going to read it. It took me awhile to get into it, because it was just so not what I was used to seeing from Rowell, but I'm glad I stuck it out and got into it (it's not like I was considering dropping it and starting something else, but, y'know). For those who aren't familiar with the premise, Simon and Baz are magicians attending the Watford School of Magicks (Harry Potter fans who choose to roll your eyes, please just leave). Baz is a vampire, but not openly, everyone just suspects he's a vampire, and he is. Simon and Baz have been roommates and seem to have an equal hatred for each other -- except that Baz has always been in love with Simon.

I won't fill in the blanks, because I think you should read it, but Simon and Baz do end up having a romance which isn't in any way influenced by heteronormativity, unlike all those other gooey YA books about teens struggling with their sexualities. I'm not slamming those books, but I just think that it was nice to see two guys having a romance with no labels; it was what it was and no one gave a crap, and I applaud Rowell for that. If only the real world could be a little bit more like that. It's a really nice read, if you're a sucker for cheesy romance and cuteness overloads (if you've read and enjoyed any of Rowell's other books, it's safe to say you do.) I'd also like to point out that I can't see the words "carry on" together without thinking of Simon and Baz, my iPad background is currently Carry On themed and my iPhone background is currently Fangirl themed. 4/5 stars.

Book Reviews: 'Not That Kind of Girl' by Lena Dunham and 'Year of Yes' by Shonda Rhimes

1. Not That Kind of Girl, by Lena Dunham: I have recently started watching Dunham's HBO series Girls and when I learned that a lot of the series' storylines are based off of her real-life experiences, I was intrigued, because a lot of them are relatable (I'm playing fast and loose with the term relatable and you'll totally understand what I mean if you've seen Girls.) Anyway, so when I found out Dunham wrote a book of essays, I was even more intrigued and I quickly bought it. Dunham is one of those writers that writes with such honesty, such integrity and such full disclosure. That's definitely what Not that Kind of Girl brings. Her stories and essays were so beautifully written and relatable that I felt it deeply. I recently saw a list of books on Buzzfeed that people submitted to help with anxiety, and I think this book definitely falls into that category (even though it wasn't on that list). Dunham herself suffers from anxiety and OCD and her stories about them are written in a way that would make people who suffer with the same issues feel not alone. I definitely recommend Not That Kind of Girl to anyone who is feeling depressed or alone, or just in the mood for stories that are heartfelt, honest and often hilarious. 5/5 stars.

2. Year of Yes, by Shonda Rhimes: I knew I wanted to read this book from the moment Rhimes began promoting it. I had only known her to be the mastermind behind Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder and not much else. Well, my friends, after reading Year of Yes I not only view Shonda Rhimes in a whole new light, but myself. The book is basically half memoir, half self-help in the sense that Rhimes not only tells her story, but tells how she got over a lot of her issues and how others can too. Crippled with social anxiety, stage fright and highly introverted, Rhimes used her nature to say no to the things that scared her, but after her sister pointed out that she never says yes to anything, Rhimes decided that for an entire year, she would say yes to all the things that scared her. She not only did it, but she found so much success with it that she didn't just stop after the year was up; it's still going on. Being an introvert myself, I took a lot of Rhimes' advice to heart, for example, how to take compliments from people, which until I read about her struggles with it in Year of Yes, I didn't even realize I had the same problem. "Thank you, smile, shut up." Rhimes also talks about how Cristina Yang, one of the original Grey's Anatomy characters portrayed by Sandra Oh, was a creation of hers through which she vicariously expressed all the things she couldn't express herself. It's just a really hilarious and uplifting memoir, and I highly recommend it. 5/5 stars.

Book Reviews: 'The Bell Jar' by Sylvia Plath and 'Play It As It Lays' by Joan Didion

I've debated including book reviews on this blog for a long time, because as much as I love TV and movies, I love books and reading just as much, and I love to write about the things I love. So, as it was a minor-league resolution of mine to write more on this blog in 2016 as I kinda dropped the ball in the second half of 2015, I've decided to introduce reviews of books I've read to Living on Guilty Pleasures!

1. The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath: I tried to read this book a couple months ago, and while I enjoyed it, it just wasn't the kind of book I was looking to read at the time, so I put it down and declared I would pick it up again later on. I decided, because it's short (only 244 pages), that I could read it quickly, which I did. The Bell Jar has to be one of if not the most hauntingly beautiful novel I've ever read. The storyline is a little hard to follow, given it takes place entirely in the narration and stream of consciousness of its main character, Esther Greenwood. The novel is considered an American classic as well as Plath's semi-autobiography, as several of the events in Esther's life are a fictionalized take on events in Plath's life. But, despite being a little hard to follow and one of those books that relies on the reader to piece things together and say, "Oh, that's what was happening," it was still a really good book and story. "To the person in the bell jar, blank and stopped as a dead baby, the world itself is a bad dream." 3.5/5 stars.

2. Play It As It Lays, by Joan Didion: I have a lot of feelings about this book. While it has really nice descriptions and interesting character types, its storyline, somewhat like The Bell Jar but much worse, is REALLY hard to follow and the main protagonist, Maria (pronounced like Mariah, apparently, which annoyed me so in my head she was just Maria), remained incredibly hard to relate to even after the story was finished. A lot of the things she did didn't seem to have cause, she just went around screwing up her life without any regard for the people who cared about her. Also, I think the text is a bit homophobic for its use of the word "faggot" like an everyday word. I know it was the 70s, so maybe it was for the purpose of the story's time period which as we all know was more than a bit homophobic, but still, to me it felt a bit homophobic. I also think Maria's personal problems (strictly caused by her own actions) could've been remedied easier if her daughter, Kate, was actually in the story instead of just mentioned. According to the dust jacket description, Kate means a lot to Maria, but she isn't even in the story except for when Maria mentions her. But, despite all its faults, Play It As It Lays really did have some beautiful descriptions and I really enjoyed the chapters with Maria's narration towards the end. Fun fact: I read the first edition of this book from my library, and it was quite easy to tell it was from the 70s: Didion poses with a cigarette in hand on the back. 2.5/5 stars.

2 TV couples who deserved happy endings but didn't get them

I'm always devastated when a favorite TV couple doesn't get a happy ending when they oh so deserved one (aren't we all?). I gave it a lot of thought and while I wanted this list to be longer, these were the only 2 couples who I really thought deserved to be talked about, at least in my opinion (I was going to include Meredith and Derek from Grey's Anatomy but, hell, I didn't wanna go there). So, here are 2 couples who damn well deserved happy endings but, unfortunately, didn't get them.

1. Mike Delfino and Susan Mayer, Desperate Housewives: Any DH fan knows that Mike and Susan were being propped from the very first episode. You knew that's where it was headed, despite the fact that they loved torturing us fans by having them break up and get back together several times. First there was complicated drama involving the revelation that Mike is Zach Young's (Cody Kasch) biological father, which kept them apart for the better part of the second season until they seemingly reunited (because let's face it, we all knew they still loved each other), but Mike was run down by Orson (Kyle McLachlan) in the second season finale. Mike fell comatose and when he awoke, he was in the company of none other than Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), who convinced him Susan treated him badly and they ended up getting together, adding further fuel to the iconic Susan vs. Edie rivalry. Susan moved on with Ian (Dougray Scott), but when Edie dumped Mike he started coming around again, leading Ian to leave Susan. Mike and Susan finally got married at the end of season three, and were *somewhat* happily together in season four, despite Mike's brief addiction to pain killers. Susan became pregnant and gave birth to their son, M.J. Delfino, at the end of the fourth season, which also brought the five-year time jump that showed Susan in a relationship with someone else. In the fifth season, we find out that Mike and Susan divorced after constant fighting over a car accident they were in that resulted in the deaths of a mother and her young daughter. Feelings lingered between them while apart, no surprise, especially when Mike started dating Susan's best friend and fellow Wisteria Lane resident Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany). Mike ended up leaving Katherine to save Susan and M.J. from a madman in the season five finale (let's not get into THAT) and they got remarried in the sixth season premiere. But, Katherine refused to believe Mike didn't love her anymore, leading to some rash behavior (at one point she stabbed herself and told the police Mike stabbed her). Katherine and Susan eventually made up and that was that... Mike and Susan were happily together through their financial struggles and Susan's health crisis of season seven, but Mike's decision to beat up a loan shark towards the end of the final season led to his untimely death in a drive-by shooting. After all that, Mike and Susan didn't get their happy ending. They went to hell and back, but they didn't get one. I'm not sure whether to sigh or sob...

2. Robert McCallister and Kitty Walker, Brothers & Sisters: These two were undeniably cute when they bonded over their stance on Republican politics, which led to a romance when Kitty became California senator Robert's communications manager. They fell in love and got married. While Robert's politics career always seemed to come first, especially when he was running for President of the United States in the second season, he proved his love to Kitty when he dropped out of the race, deciding it would have and was already having a negative effect on his marriage. Robert's character became far less likable into the third season... There's no sugarcoating it: he was an asshole. He and Kitty tried to adopt a child for the better part of the season, and when a birth mother (Sonja Sohn) finally picked them, he hid his intentions to run for Governor of California. Kitty discovered his deception moments before their birth mother Trish gave birth to a boy, and as Robert rushed to the hospital from announcing his run for Governor, he suffers a major heart attack. As much as we hated him at the time (c'mon, admit it, you had to have hated him at some point), his heart attack scene, contrasted with Trish giving birth, as Coldplay's "Fix You" played was undeniably a tearjerker. Robert became even more insufferable during his recovery, so much so that Kitty had to escape him by going to the park where she met a fellow dad, which led to a suspicious friendship and dangerous flirtation... They shared a kiss, and Robert wasn't sure if he could forgive her. The couple's future lays in the balance as season three closes, but Kitty declares that she wants to work it out and they eventually reunite. Robert and Kitty stayed strong through her battle with lymphoma in the fourth season, where all that Robert/Kitty cuteness we fell in love with back in season one was visible again. Kitty beat the cancer and later decided to run for Robert's senate seat, as his term was ending, and he started to get suspicious job offers that he hid from Kitty once again. Before he could take any of them, Robert died in the great car accident in the fourth season finale. Kitty begged him to hold on, but he couldn't. Despite their troubles, with all their triumphs, these two deserved a happy ending. But they too didn't get one. It was all the more frustrating when Kitty became pregnant at the end of the final season (she suffered a miscarriage while with Robert and was told she couldn't carry children) with someone else significantly younger than her. She should've had her happy ending with Robert with his child. I'm just saying.